Stop the press: Could Maui reconsider plans culling its vacation rentals? This is another possible whirlwind change impacting visitors and residents alike.
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79 thoughts on “Stalled? Plan To Cut 7,000 Maui Vacation Rentals Hits Pause”
Stop the press: Could Maui reconsider plans culling its vacation rentals? This is another possible whirlwind change impacting visitors and residents alike.
Some time those in power can’t see woods for the trees. Go ahead and shut off vacation rentals to the to those wish go to Maui. You don’t need their money that paid your salary, or money they spent for stay at the stores, entertainment, that taxes help to paid island improvements. Like they ” its just island ” that manufacturers nothing, and has too many with their hand out,
Aloha everyone, hope all is well. Hope this is on topic.
Obviously Green and the govt. want less tourists and do want the rich ones who spend more.
Sqeeze out us working/middle class.
We are blessed with our Ohana on Oahu and beloved Kaanapali timeshare.
2 to 3 visits a year and we are very grateful.
Sincerely we have always been treated awesome by the local people. Sorry for those who have had bad experiences.
Recently been to Cancun, Florida, and Bahamas and were repeatedly told how welcome we are.
Growing up and living in Orange County/So Cal, tourism is huge and we want and welcome visitors.
We love our Ohana and Hawaii and will forever want to “come home”
Take good care
Just out of curiosity, I checked the Realtor site and some STR owners must be planning for the worst. Saw a real uptick in the number of homes and condos for rent in Maui County – especially small, furnished condos that appeared to be STR’s.
Best regards
Jay, Some of those owners might be fearful of foreclosure. STRs have a small profit margin and the mayor’s arrogant, selfish press conference had an immediate negative effect on tourism. Who would want to come where they’re not wanted? But I suspect at least half of those listings are from condo owners who are getting priced out of their homes. Again, partly because of the mayor’s failure to prepare for a fire in Lahaina on a hot day with 80 mph winds, we had devastating loss of life and now insurance premiums that are the last straw. When your HOA fee goes to $1500, you either become an STR or give up.
The uncertainty of where HOA fees and one time assessments in the nosebleed range, combined with the age of so many condo developments has been one of the biggest factors in my consideration and rejection of purchasing a unit for myself to have a place to stay when I visit home (about 3 months a years).
I personally wouldn’t be comfortable running an STR but many owners don’t have a lot of choice. I’m also starting to spend less time on island anyway, it’s getting to the point of “it’s just not that fun anymore”
Best Regards
None of my family and friends come to Maui to stay in a hotel when they can rent a condo with a kitchen.
How many locals and their ohana want to be in condo with 20 pages of House Rules.
They want affordable residential housing.
I’m a 15 year resident of Kihei who bought my condo with the understanding that the Maui County Planning Department permitted STR usage if I desire. I paid extra for a facility that allowed such as I always intended to STR when I could afford to travel seasonally.
Don’t waste money on lawsuits and attorneys but fast track affordable residential housing.
I am a deeded timeshare owner. I own 1/52 of a 2 bedroom unit in Kihei. I pay approx $1,400 annually for maintenance/ taxes for that 1 week. That translates to approx $5,600 A Month in HOA fees on top of any rent/mortgage.
If they claim eminent domain to seize my property they are required to pay me market rate for my property. At just $10,000 per week, that translates to a base cost of my unit of $520,000 which would need to be recovered in rent/sale.
How is this going to suddenly morph into affordable housing?!! The numbers don’t lie. Not to mention the money I spend at stores, car rentals, activities, restraunts? Especially when so many more will be jobless because the tourist economy has collapsed? Make it make sense!!
So when is the Maui Mayor up for re-election and and is there a practical alternative to him? Plus even more concerning is that he has not paid any political price for the Lahaina disaster and his govenment’s continued land mismangement that actually fueled these deadly fires.
Reddit held a (very) unofficial poll this year asking people to vote for Missin’ Bissen (couldn’t be found day of fire and still can’t be found now) or our former mayor, Mike Victorino. Mike won by a landslide. (Bissen probably won because he took a lot of campaign money and outspent Victorino).
Sadly, Bissen is in office for 2 more years.
Is it possible to commission another study simultaneously that focuses on identifying the current barriers to creating affordable workforce housing for local residents and provides workable recommendations to address the barriers to create affordable housing on Maui?
That would make wayy too much sense!
That would make wayyyyy too much sense.
There, fixed it for you.
A note to those who believe Maui, or Hawaii, can “diversify” its economy via “industry.” Please, get a clue: there will never, ever be an industrial base located in Hawaii. The reasons are so obvious.
First, Hawaii’s tax structure is business poison and income poison, in particular Hawaii’s sky-high personal income tax rate, one of the highest in the nation.
Then there are the shocking prices for everything else: land, electricity, water & sewer rates, insurance rates — all of which are going up, up, up. Finally, the islands are in the middle of nowhere. Shipping costs to any mainland market will utterly annihilate any chance of reasonable profit, especially given the draconian Hawaii costs and fees.
I am glad that some on the Maui County Council are intelligent enough to call for a pause to Mayor Bissen’s proposal. I have lived where vacation rentals are regulated and the results have been good. I think the key is to only allow a certain amount, to bar them from some areas and to make sure that there is someone on island that can be called if there is a disturbance or emergency. Before moving to Maui, 17 years ago, my husband and I stayed in legal vacation rentals. The only group benefiting from the mayor’s idea would be the hotels. The losers would be the taxpayers who would be paying the attorneys. Involved in the lawsuits, the economy and tourists.
The Caribbean, Mexico, Europe and other locations will gladly welcome the tourist dollars that the governor of Hawaii desires to shun. We always seek to spend our vacation dollars on US destinations. Not only is HI pricing us out of the market but is making it known that US tourists aren’t worth it. The governor was high-end spenders. Go for it. We have many other choices, when in the past 20 years HI was our choice where to spend our vacation.
“…a prudent reassessment could prove critical in balancing the interests of …Maui and help ensure that any action taken supports the …vital tourism sector…prevent an onslaught of potential lawsuits…” The Mayor dropped his bombshell with a small group- representing one point of view (“If you weren’t born here, you don’t belong here.”) His press conference was held after the Attorney General found the Mayor was utterly unprepared to handle the fire, repeatedly turning down offers to help and declared an emergency at 8 pm after Lahaina was in ashes. He turned to the STR ban as a scapegoat to save face, callous to the fallout of tanking the economy. And where is he now, to be called upon for justification?
Condos on Maui, whether vacation rentals or not, have homeowner associations with monthly fees of up to $1400./month. This would be in addition to monthly rent amount for renter. Once a family of 4 has squeezed into an 800 sq.ft condo they pay their rent (up to $5000./month) and then pay association fee. They have no yard and only one parking space. The island loses jobs in every community. Properties will lose value leading to government corruption charges for conspiracy to manipulate market.
Paul Brewbaker (former Chief Economist at Bank of Hawaii) wrote a White Paper in 2022, as this is not the first time such a proposal has been made.
Some highlights:
-Maui output would decrease $2.74 billion. Statewide total Hawaii output would decline by $3.25 billion.
-Maui jobs would decrease by 14,126 (incorporating labor productivity growth). Total 16,681 jobs lost statewide.
-Maui earnings would decline by $747.7 million, earnings loss of $885.3 million statewide.
-State tax revenues from Maui would decline $137.3 million, $160.35 million in foregone state tax receipts when other islands are included.
-Maui would lose ~ $1.67 billion in tourism receipts, or 32.6 percent of Maui’s annual total.
My bet is that both the Governor and Mayor Bissen were told by legal counsel before they went forward with this proposed ban that they would lose in Court. But they went forward anyway to quell the emotion. Later after the slam dunk loss they could just say “ Well, we tried”. How tragically cynical!
I wonder how the $ 300,000 cost for the study was derived, who’s going to pay for it (hint: taxpayers) and how much is ultimately going to end up in some politician’s pockets? I’m damn sure none of it will go to the people who lost their homes, cars and livelihoods in the fire.
Thanks BOH for the excellent coverage of this ongoing mess. Many great comments from others as well. Keoki said it best; just notice the political party that has been incompetently running Hawaii and spending tax dollars like drunken sailors and you can easily see what the problem is. I could say they need to notice the elephant in the room, but unfortunately there is no elephants to be found in Hawaii. Pun intended!
Aloha to all.
Agree 100%. Fiscally irresponsible, negligent and incompetent governments such as this, run their respective cities into the ground while wasting taxpayer money and enriching themselves.
Why doesn’t the county or state authorize the construction of housing units in lower cost areas for Hawaii residents? There is a law (from Prince Kuhio) that allows Hawaii to lease a plot of land for $1 per year to those with at least 50% native Hawaiian blood. When we were there in February, I heard a couple of residents complain there has been very little progress on this and the waiting list is long. Besides, I can’t see a family of 4 living in a 500 to 750 Sq Ft condo that is really meant for a couple on a short-term visit.
Should such a foolish plan actually come to fruition, it will drive away extended families, small groups, golfers and many other niche market segments that almost exclusively utilize vacation rentals and shun hotels. Clearly, these same market segments will shun Maui and any other islands that implement such a flawed strategy. Golf courses, food service, rental vehicles and small businesses will suffer, but so too will Maui county and the state. It is also never mentioned, but litigation could also delay implementation of such a plan for quite some time. How can the county and state tell homeowners who purchased a vacation rental that they now have no right to short terms rentals, which may very well mean that the owners cannot even visit?
It’s should corrected that this proposal was put forward by CM Rawlins-Fernandez. It is not the mayor’s proposal, but he has adopted it. The full 9 member council would have to pass it. The humanizing quick-fix of providing kitchens and laundry to fire victims and getting them out of hotels makes this draconian measure more attractive, but at what price? Turning Kihei into a resort ghetto ghost town… Trying to put families into tiny condos with no storage, no parking and no pets long term isn’t what our local families want. Lāhaina fire survivors don’t want to be refugees in Kihei. That’s why FEMA has a multitude of properties they are paying thousands for and Nobody in them, now canceling those contracts.
Rawlins-Fernandez was quick to claim “all nine council members support her and the mayor.” I wonder how they feel about that. A good leader finds consensus before acting. Bissen would do well to look to Council Chair Alice Lee as a mentor. Fire survivors turned down free offers of the same South Maui STRs targeted by his bill. They do not consider small condos with no parking, no storage and strict rules to be dignified housing. Yet he would rip away20 STR rights from owners (almost half who are local) and whose tax dollars fund the kind of housing locals want and need.
Come to Maui, Don’t come to Maui, Eliminate 7000 Short term rentals, Don’t eliminate 7000 short term rentals. Hawaii quit messing with tourist’s in their decisions to book their vacations. What a headache. No wonder people just choose to go to another destination. Nobody wants this hassle or inconvenience in planning a vacation. Vacations are to relax and escape from work not the other way around. Make up your mind or the tourists will make it up for you. Have you ever thought of that?